Cardiovascular Disease

Moderate Coffee Consumption Linked to Lower Coronary Calcium

March 3, 2015 By Larry Husten Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Jaye Elizabeth Hefner, MD People who drink moderate amounts of coffee might be less likely to have atherosclerosis, a Heart study suggests. In a sample of more than 25,000 people in South Korea without known cardiovascular disease, researchers examined the relationship between coffee consumption and […]

Dietary sodium content, mortality, and risk for cardiovascular events in older adults

Dietary sodium content, mortality, and risk for cardiovascular events in older adults: The health, aging, and body composition (Health ABC) study JAMA Internal Medicine, 02/11/2015  Clinical Article Kalogeropoulos AP, et al. – In this study, authors want to examine the association between dietary sodium intake and mortality, incident cardiovascular disease (CVD), and incident heart failure […]

Inappropriate Aspirin Use for CVD Prevention

January 26, 2015 Journal of the American College of Cardiology Volume 65, Issue 2, January 2015 Ravi S. Hira, MD TAKE-HOME MESSAGE Using a US nationwide registry, the authors examined the frequency and practice-level variation of inappropriate aspirin use for preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Overall, the frequency of inappropriate aspirin use was 11.6% (N = […]

Nut consumption and risk of mortality in the Physicians’ Health Study

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 01/05/2015 Clinical Article Hshieh TT, et al. – In this study, the authors aim was to test the hypothesis that nut consumption is inversely associated with the risk of all–cause mortality. The data are consistent with an inverse association between nut consumption and the risk of all–cause and cardiovascular disease […]

Yoga has the same potential as exercise to reduce the risk factors of cardiovascular disease

Yoga has the same potential as exercise to reduce the risk factors of cardiovascular disease Effective for those ‘who cannot or prefer not to perform traditional aerobic exercise’ Topics: Cardiovascular Disease Prevention – Risk Assessment and Management Date: 16 Dec 2014 Following a systematic review of 37 randomised controlled trials, investigators from the Netherlands and USA have […]

Chronic Muscle Inflammation Tied to CVD

Published: Dec 4, 2014 By Pauline Anderson , Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Story Source Patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) seemed to have a greater burden of cardiovascular risk factors and a higher prevalence of severe coronary artery atherosclerosis compared with healthy controls, a multicenter study found. Among IIM patients, 33% were obese (body mass […]

Low-Dose Aspirin Fails in Primary Prevention

Susan Jeffrey November 18, 2014 Story Source CHICAGO — A new trial shows no benefit of low-dose, once-daily aspirin in the primary prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with multiple risk factors, including hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. No benefit was seen for the composite endpoint of nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), nonfatal stroke, or death from […]

Energy Drinks Jolts Young Kids With Too Much Caffeine

By Michelle Fay Cortez November 16, 2014 7:00 PM EST Story Source More than half of calls to U.S. poison control centers about energy drinks likeRed Bull and Monster are for children younger than 6, some suffering seizures and heart problems. The study bolsters the idea that energy drinks aren’t safe for children and should carry explicit risk […]

Lifestyle-based prediction model for the prevention of CVD: the Healthy Heart Score.

J Am Heart Assoc. 2014 Nov 14;3(6):e000954. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.114.000954. Lifestyle-based prediction model for the prevention of CVD: the Healthy Heart Score. Chiuve SE Abstract BACKGROUND: Clinical practice focuses on the primary prevention of cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD) through the modification and pharmacological treatment of elevated risk factors. Prediction models based on established risk factors are […]

Mediterranean-style diet is associated with reduced blood pressure variability and stroke risk in patients with coronary artery disease

Mediterranean-style diet is associated with reduced blood pressure variability and subsequent stroke risk in patients with coronary artery disease American Journal of Hypertension, 11/13/2014 Clinical Article Lau KK, et al. – The Mediterranean–style diet is widely advocated for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Meanwhile, blood pressure variability (BPV) is a novel risk factor for […]

Four Lifestyle Changes Might Prevent 40% of Heart Failure

November 04, 2014 Frontline Medical News LAS VEGAS (FRONTLINE MEDICAL NEWS)– Not smoking, maintaining a normal body weight, exercising regularly, and eating a healthy diet would avert roughly 40% of all cases of heart failure, Dr. Luc Djousse asserted at the annual meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America. “Those four simple lifestyle changes […]

Does Aspirin Prevent Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer? Ignore the Guidelines

AN EXPERT INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES H. HENNEKENS, MD, DRPH Linda Brookes, MSc, Charles H. Hennekens, MD, DrPH October 29, 2014 OUR ROLLERCOASTER RELATIONSHIP WITH ASPIRIN Opinions on the use of aspirin in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) have varied over the past 25 years since the Physicians’ Health Study (PHS) first demonstrated conclusively that […]

What Is Good for the Heart Is Good for the Head and Vice Versa

David Rakel MD, FAAFP Story Source Two studies published last month add to the vast amount of evidence on the positive effect that lifestyle choices have on disease risk. Tangney and colleagues showed that eating a Mediterranean diet or a DASH diet were each associated with less cognitive decline in elderly individuals.1 This was equivalent to […]

Coffee consumption and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer

Am J Epidemiol. 2014 Oct 15;180(8):763-75. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwu194. Epub 2014 Aug 24. Coffee consumption and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: a dose-response meta-analysis. Crippa A, Discacciati A, Larsson SC, Wolk A, Orsini N. Abstract Several studies have analyzed the relationship between coffee consumption and mortality, but the shape of the association remains […]

This Blood Test Predicts Death, Even When Everything Else Looks “Great”

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S. Story Source As I discussed in a recent article, I mentioned the prognostic power of the blood test brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). Remember there is a 25% increase in death if the BNP is elevated one year after a heart attack. And don’t forget a BNP persistently over 80 […]

Whole food versus supplement: Comparing the clinical evidence of tomato intake and lycopene supplementation on cardiovascular risk factors

Advances in Nutrition: An International Review Journal, 09/29/2014  Review Article Burton–Freeman BM, et al. – In this study, authors want to compare the clinical evidence of tomato intake and lycopene supplementation on cardiovascular risk factors. With the exception of blood pressure management where lycopene supplementation was favored, tomato intake provided more favorable results on cardiovascular […]

Inflammation: Continued Support for a Small Changes Approach

Craig A. Johnston, PhD Am J Lifestyle Med. 2012;6(1):18-20. Story Source ABSTRACT AND INTRODUCTION Abstract Lifestyle interventions show considerable promise in improving levels of inflammation. This review discusses how these improvements in inflammation are consistent with a “small changes” approach. Introduction Managing inflammation has the potential to be a key component in warding off disease. This […]

The Crystal Ball Heart Test Rarely Tested

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S. As a reader of YMD News you have learned that elevated fibrinogen, hsCRP, a CT heart scan and homocysteine are among the many known risk factors for progressive heart disease. It now turns out that there is a blood test that is an even a better indicator than any […]

There Is No “Alternative Medicine”: Chelation and Heart Disease

JAMES HAMBLINSEP 17 2014 Story Source A controversial treatment designed to remove environmental metals from the body might be effective in treating heart disease. Will one renegade doctor persuade the rest of the medical establishment to consider it? “For me, this is the big one.” Gervasio Lamas, the chief of Columbia University’s cardiology division at Mount […]

Low Carb Beats Low Fat for Weight Loss, CV Risk

Published: Sep 1, 2014 | Updated: Sep 2, 2014 By Nancy Walsh, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Reviewed by F. Perry Wilson, MD, MSCE; Assistant Professor, Section of Nephrology, Yale School of Medicine and Dorothy Caputo, MA, BSN, RN, Nurse Planner Story Source Action Points Note that this small randomized trial demonstrated that a low-carbohydrate […]